The popular educational publication from the Z klementinských pokladů [From the Klementinum Treasures] edition series gives an opportunity to look into the album of watercolour drawings, which is known today under the name Codex pictoricus Mexicanus and its original can be found in the collections of the National Library of the CR. Its author was Jesuit Ignaz Tirsch (1733–1781), who was not only a missionary, but also an architect, natural scientist, and artist. The drawings depict the appearance of the landscape, flora, and fauna as well as the inhabitants of Baja California, Mexico, around the mid-18th century. They are provided with brief descriptions or only names in Indian laguages or in German, partly interspersed with Spanish words and concepts; Tirsch mainly captured local names, plants or animals (here, in the illustrated supplement, the Czech translation of the original text is used). Although the drawings are of simple documetary character, this set is of extraordinary value for history and natural scince; in addition, it also provides the evidence of the Central European view of Baroque Mexico.
National Library of the CR, Prague 2024, first edition, 125 pp., paperback, price CZK 399
ISBN 978-80-7050-802-2